A Chat in the Garden

This is a replay from September 13, 2017. When the episode orginally aired, Merlene Aitken-Smith was the Assistant AD and SWA at Clayton State University. She was named Deputy Athletic Director at University of Nevada in December 2022. 

Aitken-Smith brings over 20 years of athletics administration experience to Nevada and comes to the Wolf Pack from Grambling State where she served as Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator before being the school's Associate Vice President/Chief Compliance Officer since August 2021. 

At Nevada, she will have oversight of a range of units, including health and wellness (strength and conditioning, athletic training, student-athlete nutrition and mental health), events, facilities, capital projects and human resources. She will also serve as a sport administrator for multiple Wolf Pack teams. Aitken-Smith will also serve as the department’s liaison to the university’s general counsel.

Her athletics administration experience includes previous positions at Georgia Tech, North Carolina A&T, Winston Salem State, Kansas, Washington, Michigan State, Clayton State, and Grambling State.

She earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Brooklyn College and her Juris Doctorate from Massachusetts School of Law.

Join us on A Chat in the Garden with Monique A. J. Smith at 10:00 am EST. Come listen to our guest’s career path, her advice for others & current initiatives...A Chat in the Garden with Monique A.J. Smith, where Significance Blooms. Listen via 563-999-3513 or www.chatinthegarden.com. This is Season 9. Seasons 1-5 (and soon Season 6) can be found on 200plus.expert, previously broadcasted on Survival Broadcast Network. Seasons 7 & 8 are at www.chatinthegarden.com.